The Queen opens The Crick as research lab gets royal approval

THE Queen unveiled a plaque and a picture of DNA pioneer Francis Crick as the new research laboratories named after him in Somers Town was officially opened on Wednesday. She was given a tour of the £650 million building – know locally simply as “the Crick” – where scientists hope to develop ways to treat cancer, HIV and malaria.

People waving Union Jacks were outside to welcome the Queen and Prince Philip. Crick director Sir Paul Nurse said it had been a “delight” to welcome the monarch.

Some residents in Somers Town opposed the choice of location for the lab, arguing the lab could have been built anywhere and public land at Brill Place should have been used for housing.

But the Crick is now linked up to a rebranding of the area as “the Knowledge Quarter”, due to its close proximity to the British Library, Wellcome Institute and university campuses.